Community

Margaret and the Moth Tree

Lemony Snicket meets Charlotte’s Web in this spellbinding story about a quiet, brown-haired orphan named Margaret trapped in a dreadful orphanage run by the sinister, beautiful Miss Switch. After an unsuccessful attempt to alert authorities to Miss Switch’s tyranny, Margaret is forced to endure a life of complete silence. But the new state of affairs proves to be more blessing than curse. You see, Margaret can hear things other people cannot. And on one incredible day, Margaret hears tiny voices coming from a strange, thorny tree and discovers a community of playful moths. Together Margaret and the moths prepare a plan to end Miss Switch’s reign of terror and provide a better life for everyone.

Tashi and the Tibetan Flower Cure

A young Tibetan American girl helps her grandfather recover from an illness through the use of a traditional cure that focuses on spiritual as well as physical recovery and brings together a caring community.

A Bus Called Heaven

One morning in front of Stella’s house, an abandoned bus appears, looking sad as a whale on a beach. On its front, held up with packing tape, is a hand-painted sign that says Heaven. Right away, the bus brings change to Stella’s street when people stop to talk about it instead of rushing by. And as Stella looks past all the empty bottles and cans inside, as she sees the sparrows nesting in the engine, she changes, too. “This bus could be ours,” she declares. With a master’s eye for finding the magic in the mundane, Bob Graham creates an encouraging story about community – a whimsical tale about neighbors of all ages and stripes coming together, and about one little girl who comes into her own.

This book has been included in WOW’s Kids Taking Action Booklist. For our current list, visit our Boolist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.

Cat Found

A heartwarming tale about the importance of caring for strays. In Billy’s small town, stray cats are running wild, and there’s growing pressure to get rid of them. The school bullies don’t even hesitate to throw rocks at the poor creatures! So when Billy finds a wounded, starving kitten and sneaks her home, he has to be extra-careful to keep her hidden while he nurses her back to health. However precious little Conga is to him, he knows his dad would take her away if he discovered her, safe and warm in Billy’s bedroom. Can Billy and his friends confront the cat abusers, convince the town of the importance of caring for abandoned animals, and find a safe haven for strays?

Hound and Hare

Hounds and hares are like cats and mice. At least, that’s the way it is in Great Bone, a little village beside the river. Harley Hare and Hugo Hound see each other at school every day, and they’re interested in the same things. But they never talk to each other because the Hare and Hound families can’t stand one another. When the annual Big Race takes place on the meadow, Harley and Hugo find themselves racing neck to neck, until a terrible thunderstorm breaks out. Hugo is terrified of the storm and the lightning. Harley panics when they discover they are lost. It turns out that between them, they know just what to do. And, working together, they not only save themselves, but become heroes of the day as well.

The No 1 Car Spotter

Oluwalase Babatunde Benson is Number 1. He’s the Number 1 car spotter in his African village. The Number 1 car spotter in the world! The start of an exciting new series about the irresistible Number 1, whose hobby is car spotting, but who is good at solving all sorts of problems for his village.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume IV, Issue 4

Going Going

Florrie’s favorite coffee shop, with its open mike night, dreamy candles, and cute waiters … Going? The mysterious little hut selling fresh lemon ice on the west side of town … Going? The boutique featuring clothes you don’t find at the mall, allowing you to look like … an interesting person … Going? Individuality. Originality. Quality. Independence. Opportunity. Going, going, gone. What’s a girl to do?

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 3, Issue 4

The Mangrove Tree

For a long time, the people of Hargigo, a village in the tiny African country of Eritrea, were living without enough food for themselves and their animals. The families were hungry, and their goats and sheep were hungry too. Then along came a scientist, Dr. Gordon Sato, who helped change their lives for the better. And it all started with some special trees. Dr. Sato’s mangrove tree-planting project transformed an impoverished village into a self-sufficient community. This fascinating story of environmental innovation is a celebration of creativity, hard work, and ability of one man to make a positive difference in the lives of many.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 5, Issue 1

Extra Credit

It isn’t that Abby Carson can’t do her schoolwork, it’s just that she doesn’t like doing it. And that means she’s pretty much failing sixth grade. When a warning letter is sent home, Abby realizes that all her slacking off could cause her to be held back — for real! Unless she wants to repeat the sixth grade, she’ll have to meet some specific conditions, including taking on an extra-credit project: find a pen pal in a foreign country. Simple enough (even for a girl who hates homework).Abby’s first letter arrives at a small school in Afghanistan, and Sadeed Bayat is chosen to be her pen pal…. Well, kind of. He is the best writer, but he is also a boy, and in his village it is not appropriate for a boy to correspond with a girl. So his younger sister dictates and signs the letter. Until Sadeed decides what his sister is telling Abby isn’t what he’d like Abby to know.As letters flow back and forth between Illinois and Afghanistan, Abby and Sadeed discover that their letters are crossing more than an ocean. They are crossing a huge cultural divide and a minefield of different lifestyles and traditions. Their growing friendship is also becoming a growing problem for both communities, and some people are not happy. Suddenly things are not so simple.